How to use the cloze test generator
- Paste a passage, up to 3,000 characters. The moon passage shown is an example.
- Choose how often to remove a word: every nth word, from 2 to 20, and the word to start at.
- Decide whether to skip words shorter than 3 letters, add a word bank, and print an answer key.
- Check the blank count under the preview, then press Download PDF or Print.
How blanks are chosen
The passage is split into words. The first blank is the word number you choose to start at, and after that every nth word becomes a blank. With every 5th word starting at 5, a 20 word passage has blanks at words 5, 10, 15 and 20, which is 4 blanks. Punctuation stays where it was, so a comma after a blanked word still prints after the blank.
When you skip short words, a due blank that lands on a word of one or two letters moves to the next longer word, and the count starts again from there. In the example passage of 49 words, removing every 5th word and skipping short ones gives 9 blanks, from Earth to the. Without skipping, the blanks include words like It and us, which are hard to guess.
Word bank, key and good practice
A word bank lists the missing words in a mixed order, using the code you can repeat. It makes the test easier and suits younger readers. Leave it out for a harder test, where the reader uses context to find each word. The answer key prints on its own page with numbered answers, and large passages use more than one key page.
Use text you have the right to copy, such as your own writing or material you may reuse. Read the result before you print, since some blanks can have more than one good answer. For related practice, see the Word Scramble Maker, the Spelling Test Template, the Flashcard Maker and the Essay Outline Generator.
Assumptions and limits
- A word is any run of letters or digits separated by spaces. Hyphenated words count as one word.
- Blanks have the same width, so the length of a blank does not hint at the answer.
- A word bank is limited to 100 blanks, and a single word may not be longer than 40 characters.
- Your passage stays on your device and is never uploaded.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cloze test?
A cloze test is a passage with words removed that the reader fills in from context. Removing every nth word is the most common way to make one.
How many blanks will I get?
The page counts them for you. Removing every 5th word of a 20 word passage gives 4 blanks. A longer passage or a smaller n gives more.
Why skip short words?
Words such as a, an, it and to are easy to guess and add little to the test. With the option on, the blank moves to the next longer word.
Can I print a word bank?
Yes. Turn on the word bank and the missing words are listed in a mixed order at the top of the first page. The same code gives the same order.